System and product for tinting caulking

ABSTRACT

In a method for tinting caulking, a quantity of caulking is sealed within and toward one end of an elongate, pliable casing. The unfilled portion of the casing is then unsealed, and a quantity of tinting agent, such as paint, is introduced into the casing, which is then resealed. The caulking and tinting are then intermixed by manual kneading of the casing until the caulking has acquired a desired color. The sealed end of the filled portion of the casing is then unsealed, the casing is inserted into a caulking cartridge with the filled portion disposed toward the nozzle end of the cartridge, and a slidable plug is inserted into the cartridge. The cartridge may is then loaded in a conventional caulking gun, which upon actuation urges the plug against the casing so as to force the tinted caulking out of the unsealed casing and through the cartridge nozzle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 11/272,729, filedNov. 15, 2005, and the disclosure of said application Ser. No.11/272,729 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to methods and systems forimparting a desired color to caulking compounds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Caulking compounds are commonly used in a variety of applications inconstruction and renovation of residential and commercial buildings,typically as a sealant to prevent leakage or infiltration of air ormoisture. In many instances the caulking will be exposed, making itdesirable for the caulking to be color-matched to adjacent surfaces suchas walls, ceilings, or trim materials, so that the caulking visuallyblends in with the adjacent materials. In additional to these commoninstances, there may be other circumstances in which colored or tintedcaulking may be desirable.

Caulking is typically sold in cartridges which can be inserted intocaulking guns, thus making caulking application convenient andrelatively easy for contractors as well as “do-it-yourself” homeowners.However, the caulking is typically white in color (or clear). It is noteconomically feasible for a caulking manufacturer to makecartridge-packed caulking available in an extensive range of colors, andcertainly not so as to be able to match all the colors that can beobtained through creative tinting of paint.

For these reasons, contractor and homeowners may be faced with a problemwhen wishing to apply caulking that matches a painted adjacent surface(for example, when caulking around a door or window frame), because itis not possible to buy a cartridge of color-matched caulking. Onepossible way to deal with this problem might be to scoop the caulkingout bf a cartridge, place it in a pail or other container, add a tintingagent (typically paint), and mix the tinting agent manually into thecaulking using a stick or other tool. After the caulking has been mixedto a sufficiently uniform color, it would be packed back into thecartridge. Although workable to some extent, this method would be bothtime-consuming and messy, particularly because of the stickiness that isinherent to caulking materials.

The prior art discloses a variety of methods and apparatus directed tomixing and tinting caulking or other cartridge-packed compositions,including the following:

-   -   U.S. Pat. No. 1,998,692 (Van Rossem et al.), issued Apr. 23,        1935;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,195,778 (Coates), issued Jul. 20, 1965;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,612 (Lostutter), issued May 23, 1978;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,196 (Lostutter), issued Sep. 12, 1978;    -   U.S. Patent Appl. No. 09/452,881 (Anderson et al.), filed Dec.        2, 1999;    -   U.S. Patent Appl. No. 09/976,008 (Anderson et al.), filed Oct.        15, 2001;    -   U.S. Patent Appl. No. 10/115,330 (Renfro), filed Apr. 2, 2002;        and    -   U.S. Patent Appl. No. 10/382,648 (Brandon), filed Mar. 7, 2003.

A characteristic common to all of these prior art inventions is thatthey involve the use of mechanical apparatus of some form. In somecases, mixing is effected by manipulating of a mixing tool that comesinto direct physical contact with the materials being mixed (e.g.,caulking and tinting agent). In other cases, the materials to be mixedare loaded into cartridges which are then mounted on a machine thatagitates the cartridges, thereby mixing the materials contained therein.

These prior art inventions have a number of drawbacks and disadvantages.The use of apparatus having a mixing fool entails post-use clean-up,which once again is time-consuming and messy. The prior art inventionsthat mix the material by agitation of loaded caulking cartridges areintended for mixing multiple cartridges, whereas contractors orhomeowners will commonly require only one cartridge (or less) of coloredcaulking. In addition, the use of agitation-type mixing apparatus mayrequire the introduction of plasticizers and/or a heating step to lowerthe viscosity of the caulking in order to facilitate satisfactorymixing. A further and basic disadvantage common to all of these priorart inventions is the fact that they involve some type of mechanicalapparatus, with associated cost and maintenance requirements.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a method and system fortinting caulking by mixing the caulking with a tinting agent, butwithout the need for mechanical mixing apparatus. There is a furtherneed for such method and system that facilitates tinting of caulking inquantities small enough for use in a conventional caulking cartridge. Inaddition, there is a need for such method and system whereby caulkingcan be tinted without the user coming into direct physical contact withthe caulking or the tinting agent. The present invention is directed tothese needs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In general terms, the present invention is a method for tintingcaulking, and a caulking product system for use in association with themethod. In accordance with the invention, a caulking charge (i.e., adesired quantity of caulking) is provided within an elongate, pliablecasing, at least a portion of which is substantially transparent so thatthe color of the caulking inside the casing can be viewed. Preferably,the casing is completely transparent (such as by using a casing madefrom clear plastic film).

The casing is sealed at both ends, so as to inhibit drying or curing ofthe caulking. The casing is longer than needed to hold the caulkingcharge, and the caulking charge is disposed toward one end of thecasing. This results in the casing being effectively divided into afilled portion and a substantially empty unfilled portion. The length ofthe unfilled portion is generally not critical except that it must besufficient so that:

-   -   the end of the unfilled portion can be unsealed (such as by        simply cutting off the end of the unfilled portion with a knife        or scissors, or by making a small slit or puncture in the        unfilled portion, or by any other suitable means);    -   a tinting charge (i.e., a desired quantity of tinting agent) can        then be introduced into the casing through the unsealed end of        the unfilled portion; and    -   the end of the unfilled portion can then be resealed, so as to        enclose the caulking charge and the tinting charge.

In the preferred embodiment, the unfilled portion of the casing is longenough to permit effective resealing by simply tying a knot in theunfilled portion. However, other ways of resealing the end of theunfilled portion may be used without departing from the invention. Thepoint of resealing (e.g., the knot location) will preferably be fairlyclose to the caulking charge, but this is not essential to theinvention. In some situations it may be desirable to leave some spacebetween the point of resealing and the caulking charge, and perhaps toinclude an air space, to facilitate mixing of the caulking charge andtinting charge in accordance with the method of the invention, asdescribed below.

Once the end of the unfilled portion of the casing has been resealed,the caulking charge and tinting charge are intermixed by manualmanipulation of the casing, such as by kneading, rolling, squeezing, orother suitable manual technique, or a combination of such manualtechniques. When the caulking and tinting agent have been sufficientlyintermixed, such that the caulking has acquired a desired color, thecaulking is ready for use. The sealed end of the filled portion of thecasing may then be unsealed (such as by slitting with a knife),whereupon the casing is inserted into a conventional cylindricalcaulking cartridge with the filled portion disposed toward the nozzleend of the cartridge. A slidable plug member is then inserted into thecartridge, which is now ready for loading into a conventional caulkinggun.

Accordingly, in one aspect the present invention is a method for tintingcaulking, comprising the steps of: providing a quantity of caulkingsealingly enclosed in and partially filling an elongate, pliable casing,at least a portion of said casing being transparent; unsealing one endof the casing; introducing a quantity of tinting agent into the casing,said tinting agent being miscible with the caulking; resealing theunsealed end of the casing; and kneading the caulking and tinting agentwithin the casing until the caulking is of a substantially uniformlycolor.

In another aspect, the invention is a method for preparing a cartridgeof tinted caulking, said method comprising the steps of: providing anelongate cylindrical cartridge having a nozzle end, an open end, and aninterior chamber with a cylindrical wall; providing a quantity ofcaulking sealingly enclosed in and partially filling an elongate,pliable casing, at least a portion of said casing being transparent;providing a plug member having a circular perimeter edge, said plugmember being movable longitudinally within the interior chamber of thecartridge with said perimeter edge in sliding engagement with thecylindrical wall of the cartridge; unsealing one end of the casing;introducing a quantity of tinting agent into the casing, said tintingagent being miscible with the caulking; resealing the unsealed end ofthe casing; kneading the caulking and tinting agent within the casinguntil the caulking is of a substantially uniformly color; unsealing oneend of the casing, and inserting the casing, unsealed end first, intothe open end of the cartridge; and inserting the plug member into theopen end of the cartridge.

In preferred embodiments of the method, the caulking is a latex-basedcaulking and the tinting agent is a latex-based paint. However, othertypes and combinations of caulking and tinting agent may be used withoutdeparting from the present invention provided that the tinting agent ismiscible with the caulking. For example, the method could be used totint an oil-based caulking using ah oil-based (i.e., alkyd) paint as thetinting agent.

For purposes of this patent document, the term “miscible”, withreference to a tinting agent for tinting caulking in accordance with themethod of the invention, denotes that the tinting agent may besubstantially uniformly combined with the caulking without separation.The tinting agent will preferably be in liquid form, such as a paint,but tinting agents in powdered or other forms may be used withoutdeparting from the invention, provided that they have suitablemiscibility for the type of caulking being used.

In a further aspect, the invention is a caulking product comprising: anelongate cylindrical cartridge having a nozzle end, an open end, and aninterior chamber with a cylindrical wall; a quantity of caulkingsealingly enclosed in an elongate, pliable casing, at least a portion ofsaid casing being transparent, wherein the caulking fills only part ofthe casing and is disposed toward one end thereof, thus dividing thecasing into a filled portion and an unfilled portion, and said casingbeing disposed within the interior chamber of the cartridge; a plugmember closing off the open end of the cartridge so as to retain thecasing within the interior chamber of the cartridge. In the preferredembodiment, the plug member includes a gripping element to facilitateremoval of the plug member from the cartridge. Also in the preferredembodiment, the caulking product of this aspect of the inventionincludes means for introducing a tinting agent into the casing (forexample, a syringe).

In a yet further aspect, the invention is a caulking product comprising:a quantity of caulking sealingly enclosed in an elongate pliable casing,at least a portion of said casing being transparent, wherein thecaulking fills only part of the casing and is disposed toward one endthereof, thus dividing the casing into a filled portion and an unfilledportion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying figures, in which numerical references denote like parts,and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the components of a caulking product inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the caulking product of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates the step of introducing a tinting agent into anunsealed caulking casing in accordance with one embodiment of the methodof the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the caulking casing after being resealed subsequentto the step shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 conceptually illustrates the step of manually mixing the caulkingand tinting agent after the casing has been resealed as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates the caulking casing after re-insertion into thecartridge after the manual mixing step illustrated in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates the components of a caulking product (generallydesignated by reference numeral 10) in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the invention. An elongate pliable casing 20 is partiallyfilled with caulking 30, with said caulking 30 being disposed toward oneend of the casing 20, which is thus effectively divided into a filledportion 22 (having a free end 22F) and an unfilled portion 24 (having afree end 24F). Caulking 30 is preferably densely packed into filledportion 22 so as to form a sausage-like shape; however, this is notessential to the invention. It is known to form sealed caulking“sausages” (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,839, issued to Eierleet al. on Apr. 12, 1994), but the provision of an unfilled portion 24particularly distinguishes the partially-filled casing 20 of the presentinvention from such prior art. For reasons that will be explained, itmay be desirable for unfilled portion 24 to be at least a few incheslong, but this is not essential. What is important is that the unfilledportion 24 is large enough to allow for introduction of a desiredquantity of tinting agent into the casing 20 (after it has beenunsealed, as described below), while allowing, for casing 20 to then beresealed.

Free ends 22F and 24F are sealed in substantially vapour-tight fashionto prevent drying or curing of caulking 30 inside casing 20. The sealingof free ends 22F and 24F may be accomplished by any of a variety ofsuitable known means, as will be readily evident to persons skilled inthe field of the invention. For example, free ends 22F and 24F may beheat-sealed or crimp-sealed as conceptually denoted by reference numeral26 in FIG. 1. In preferred embodiments, casing 20 is made from a clearplastic film (e.g., polyethylene), which is readily available incontinuous rolls in “bag” form (i.e., such that a sealed pocket can beformed by transversely sealing the material at two longitudinally-spacedlocations.

The caulking product 10 of FIG. 1 also includes a conventionalcylindrical caulking cartridge 40 having a nozzle end 42, a nozzle 44(preferably with nozzle cap 44A), an open end 46, and an interiorchamber 48 with a cylindrical wall 48A. Cartridge 40 is proportioned andadapted such that caulking-filled casing 20 may be readily receivedwithin interior chamber 48. In the preferred embodiment, thecross-sectional diameter, of interior chamber 48 will be only slightlylarger than the diameter of the filled portion 22 of casing 20 whenfilled portion 22 is densely packed into a sausage-like configuration aspreviously described.

Included as well in this embodiment of caulking product 10 is a plugmember 50 having a circular perimeter edge 52. Plug member 50 isproportioned so as to be movable longitudinally within the interiorchamber 48 of cartridge 40, with its perimeter edge 52 in slidingengagement with cylindrical wall 48A.

Caulking product 10 may be provided in the form of a kit of components,as shown in FIG. 2. However, in the preferred embodiment it is providedin assembled form as illustrated in FIG. 2, with casing 20 completelydisposed within interior chamber 48 of cartridge 40, and with plugmember 50 inserted into open end 46 of cartridge 40 so as to retaincasing 20 within interior chamber 48. When casing 20 is thus disposedwithin interior chamber 48, unfilled portion 24 will be folded orotherwise bunched up against filled portion 22. In the preferredembodiment, casing 20 is disposed within interior chamber 48 with freeend 22F of filled portion 22 disposed toward nozzle end 42, such thatunfilled portion 24 will be adjacent to plug member 50.

Once assembled as described, caulking product 10 may be convenientlypackaged for transport to retail or wholesale merchants for display andsale as desired, or for direct transport to a site where it is desiredto use caulking product 10 to prepare colored caulking. In order to usecaulking product 10 for this purpose, and in accordance with the methodof the present invention, the user first removes plug member 50 fromopen end 46 of cartridge 40. To facilitate this step, plug member 50preferably has a gripping element 54. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2,gripping element 54 may be in the form of a loop formed integrally withor attached to gripping element 54. In any cases after plug member 50has been removed from cartridge 40, casing 20 is then withdrawn orotherwise removed from cartridge 40. This step is preferably facilitatedby assembling the product with unfilled portion 24 of casing 20 adjacentto plug, member 50 as previously described; the user may simply graspand pull on the folded or bunched-up unfilled portion 24 in order towithdraw casing 20 from cartridge 40.

The next step in the method is to unseal casing 20 and then to introducea desired amount of tinting agent 60 thereinto. In the preferredembodiment of the method, as illustrated in FIG. 3, unfilled portion 24of casing 20 is unsealed (preferably at or close to free end 24F) by anyconvenient means, such as by slitting it with a knife, cutting it withscissors, of forming a puncture with a suitable tool. A desired quantityor charge of a selected tinting agent 60 is then introduced into casing20. In the particularly preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3, tintingagent 60 is introduced using an inexpensive conventional syringe 70, theuse of which helps to eliminate or reduce the chance of spillage oftinting agent. Where the desired tinting agent 60 is a paint (as willperhaps most often be the case) or other liquid, syringe 70 can be usedto draw the liquid from its container and discharge it into casing 20,after which syringe 70 may simply be discarded. Syringe 70 thusfacilitates the introduction of tinting agent 60 into casing 20 withoutthe user having to come into contact with the liquid. However, any otherconvenient means for introducing tinting agent 60 into casing 20 may beused without departing from the present invention.

After tinting agent 60 has been introduced into casing 20, the next stepis to seal the unsealed free end 24F of casing 20. As shown in FIG. 4,this may be conveniently accomplished by tying a knot 29 in unfilledportion 24 of casing 20. To facilitate this and Other possible methodsof resealing casing 20, unfilled portion 24 will preferably beapproximately 4-6 inches (or 100-150 millimeters) in length; anyundesired excess may be cut off after the knot 29 or other type of sealhas been formed in unfilled portion 24. However, it is not essential forunfilled portion 24 to be of any particular size or length. What isimportant is for unfilled portion 24 is large enough to allow forintroduction of a desired quantity of tinting agent into casing 20(after it has been unsealed, as described below), and to allow casing 20to then be resealed.

With casing 20 resealed as described, with caulking 30 and tinting agent60 enclosed therein, the user manually kneads casing 20, as conceptuallyillustrated in FIG. 5, to combine tinting agent 60 with caulking 30until they have become substantially uniformly mixed, with caulking 30having acquired a substantially uniform color. As used in this patentdocument, the term “knead” and its related forms are intended to denoteand include kneading, rolling, squeezing, or other similar manipulativetechniques (which may or may not involve the use of tools oraccessories), or combinations of such methods.

The inventors have achieved satisfactory results after performing thekneading operation for as little as three minutes, using white acryliccaulking and a conventional acrylic paint as the tinting agent. Theseresults have been achieved with the materials at room temperature,without need for pre-warming the caulking as may be desirable ornecessary with some prior art methods and apparatus. The inventors havealso found that as little as one ounce of latex paint will usually besufficient to give the caulking a color closely matching that of thepaint (based on tinting caulking in an amount corresponding to a typicalcaulking cartridge sold in hardware stores and home improvementcenters). However, other mixing times and other sizes of tinting chargemay be effective or appropriate depending on the specific properties ofthe caulking to be tinted and the tinting agent to be used.

After the caulking has been mixed and tinted as described above, it is asimple matter to reinsert casing 20 (now containing tinted caulking 30A)into interior chamber 48 of cartridge 40, and to reinsert plug member 50into open end 46 of cartridge 40 so as to retain casing 20 withininterior chamber 48, all as illustrated in FIG. 6. The step ofreinserting cartridge 40 will preferably be performed such that filledportion 22 of casing 20 is directed toward nozzle end 44 of cartridge40.

If it is desired to apply tinted caulking 30A immediately, free end 22Fof filled portion 22 may be unsealed (such as by being slit with autility knife) before casing 20 is reinserted into cartridge 40. Aftercasing 20 has thus been reinserted into cartridge 40 (with free end 22Fof filled portion 22 unsealed, and with plug member 50 having, beenreinserted), cartridge 40 may be loaded into a suitable conventionalcaulking gun for use in accordance with known application methods.Actuation of the caulking gun causes plug member 50 to be urged againstcasing 20 so as to force tinted caulking 30A out of unsealed casing 20and through cartridge nozzle 46.

If it is desired to delay the application of tinted caulking 30A, casing20 may be reinserted into cartridge 40 in a sealed state, whereupon plugmember 50 may be reinserted as well. This method is particularlyconvenient where it is desired to prepare tinted caulking at a locationaway from the site where it is to be applied. When it is subsequentlydesired to apply the tinted caulking 30A, it is a simple matter toremove plug member 50 and casing 20 from cartridge 40, unseal free end22F of filled portion 22, reinsert casing 20 into cartridge 40 (withfree end 22F disposed toward nozzle end 44 of cartridge 40), andreinsert plug member 50. Cartridge 40, with tinted caulking 30Acontained therein, is now ready for loading in a caulking gun forapplication as desired.

It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications of the present invention may be devised without departingfrom the essential concept of the invention, and all such modificationsare intended to be included in the scope of the claims appended hereto.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in itsnon-limiting sense to mean that items following that word are included,but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to anelement by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibilitythat more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearlyrequires that there be one and only one such element.

1. A caulking product comprising: (a) an elongate cylindrical cartridgehaving a nozzle end, an open end, and an interior chamber with acylindrical wall; (b) a quantity of caulking sealingly enclosed in anelongate, pliable casing, at least a portion of said casing beingtransparent, wherein the caulking fills only part of the casing and isdisposed toward one end thereof, thus dividing the casing into a filledportion and an unfilled portion, and said casing being disposed withinthe interior chamber of the cartridge; (c) a plug member closing off theopen end of the cartridge so as to retain the casing within the interiorchamber of the cartridge.
 2. The caulking product of claim 1 wherein thecaulking is a latex-based caulking.
 3. The caulking product of claim 1wherein the casing is made of a plastic film.
 4. The caulking product ofclaim 1 wherein the plug member has a circular perimeter edge, and saidplug member is movable longitudinally within the interior chamber of thecartridge with said perimeter edge in sliding engagement with thecylindrical wall of the cartridge.
 5. The caulking product of claim 1wherein the plug member includes a gripping element to facilitateremoval of the plug member from the cartridge.
 6. The caulking productof claim 5 wherein the gripping element comprises a flexible loop. 7.The caulking product of claim 1, further comprising means forintroducing a tinting agent into the casing.
 8. The caulking product ofclaim 7 wherein the means for introducing a tinting agent into thecasing is a syringe.
 9. The caulking product of claim 1 wherein thefilled portion of the casing is disposed toward the nozzle end of thecartridge.
 10. A caulking product comprising a quantity of caulkingsealingly enclosed in an elongate pliable casing, at least a portion ofsaid casing being transparent, wherein the caulking fills only part ofthe casing and is disposed toward one end thereof, thus dividing thecasing into a filled portion and an unfilled portion.